April 30, 2017

A-Z CHALLENGE, The Letter Z ~ Of course, it's for Zoolatry!

April 30
The Letter Z

Just the right way to end the month and the A-Z Challenge ... with Z for ZOOLATRY.  I don't know if you've ever wondered how we came to be Zoolatry, or how we came to have a stripey-sox logo, or for that matter if it is even of interest!  If yes, read on ...

ZOOLATRY. It all began in late June 2007, and so in just a few more weeks we'll celebrate ten years of blogging!  Hard to believe ...  So many years ago, these blogs were not as user-friendly as they are now, and it was a struggle to publish a post and have it look reasonably decent, especially if you have some OCD about design.  Often I thought I'd give up ~ but what kept me going, were friends.  I kept meeting more and more pet bloggers over time, and quite a number became really good friends over these years, people I treasure and am blessed to know.  They are what keep me here today.  But I have digressed ... Zoolatry ... what it means is below ... I just sat down one day, probably watching CNN to which I am sadly addicted (being a news junkie).  A dictionary on my lap.  Hours of randomly scrolling through, giving up, then going back.  An upside: learning some new words.  Downside: getting bored.  Started with the letter "A".  Scanned each page, each letter of the alphabet, just looking for that word that caught my attention, reading what it meant.  And then to the letter "Z", and thinking, "well, this didn't work ... what will I name my blog?".  But then, nearly through all the Z's, suddenly up popped this one word ~ and that was that!  Eureka!

ZOOLATRY, PART II.  Unlike some blogs, we don't do giveaways or contests, or promote products nor have we ever paid attention to statistics (which we don't think are all that believable).  Our blog is for fun, for us, for you.  For us, a place to look back through from time to time like an album of memories and times over the years.  But doing this post, I thought for this one time I'd go ahead and take a look at the google-stats, just out of curiosity.   They are telling me that as of today we have done 3,559 posts ... we've had over 382,000 pages views (surely some of those are my own!) ... and just under 55,000 comments, not including any who may be inclined to comment today! A bit more than some blogs perhaps, far far less than many other bloggers I'm sure!   On the sidebar it says I have 383 followers, but I think many of those don't even blog anymore, they're from days-of-old, but some small part of me, really wants 17 more followers (YOU?) just to reach that nice rounded-off number of 400!  (though today you can now follow by email) But as I said, stats don't mean much now, do they ...

STRIPEY-SOX. My favorite color is red and I love red-and-white stripes the most and a peek in my closet will prove that (too much red, way too many stripes) ... often wearing stripey-sox around the house, even some sleep sox that are striped.  One day my husband casually said, "those should be your blog logo!", to which I laughed, and only replied, "ha!".  But he persisted to the point of another day, insisting I get on a step stool and pose (my feet in those sox) so he could take a bunch of photos!  It was only to appease him at the time that I did so.  But later, looking through the photos, I was a bit amused by them, and in some small way, they did say "me".  Over time I played around in photoshop with those images, reworking them time and again, until one day I was satisfied enough with an art-rendering that emerged to become my logo ... it, too, has gone through a few evolutions ... from palm trees and beach, when the sox lived in Florida, to a simple circle after moving north.  But stripey-sox it is, and so it shall be.

Thank you for bearing with me to read of the life of Zoolatry. 






DEFINITION OF ZOOLATRY

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOX


Upper left: a montage of the many "feet" photos my husband took!  Upper right: the pose I liked the most, though flipped upside down!  Middle two images: the initial art renderings of my fave pose.  Bottom left: the logo as it emerged finally.  And bottom right: as it is today, with text.  Not shown: the original "Florida" version, with palm trees, beach and sometimes ~ cat's paws ~ which sometimes still shows up on a blog here or there!




21 comments:

  1. We are grateful for you, and your care of the animal world. Without you it would be a poorer place. We love your work for Erin and her dad.

    Happy Thankful Thursday!

    Marjorie and the Dash Kitten Crew

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  2. A fitting post for the A-Z challenge :)
    We also started blogging in 2007 and have enjoyed your posts through the years.
    In many ways, the blog is like a journal.
    We have especially enjoyed the artworks.
    We look forward to many more posts too as you still have stories to tell and art to create :)
    Purrs Georgia,Julie and JJ

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  3. Great story Ann. Love how it all came to be. We are so glad that you started blogging. We enjoy all your posts with pictures of the animals.

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  4. Hooray! Of course Z is for Zoolatry!

    We, too, are so glad you started blogging 10 years ago, and that you are still blogging. Thank you for being such amazing frieds, and for all you do for so many in our pet-blogging community. We love you!

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  5. HI Ann. The blogging world would be a far less bright and cheer place without your stripy socks! And I for one or many am so grateful that they came and helped decorate and design our blog! Have a wonderful week, and a great birthday when it arrives soon... Purrs, ERin

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  6. That's a great story! Wow! Ten years!

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  7. Wow 10 years that is a pawsome achievement I have only being blogging 5 years but then I am only 5....hehehe,
    I reckon the blogging world would be a dull place with out you Ann,xx Speedy

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  8. We happily and proudly count ourselves and all our angels among those followers and friends. We are so grateful for all you have added to our blog.

    Woos - Lightning and Misty and Mom

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  9. You, and of course Zoey are the perfect Z. I am so glad you started blogging. You have done so much for so many and it is greatly appreciated. I remember when the red stripey socks first started to appear, then one day they were upside down in the sand and I knew you must be taking a well earned break.

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  10. Thanks for sharing the story behind your blog. I've been dropping in regularly for a year or so, and in all that time it never occurred to me to look "zoolatry" up in the dictionary; I just assumed it was something you made up. Ha! Congrats on persisting through the pages of the dictionary and the years of blogging!

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  11. We loved to learn more about you and your funny logo ! 10 years blogging, that's pawsome ! Purrs

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  12. Wow, 10 years is awesome! Loved to learn more about how you got started and the name.

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  13. Excellent Z post! Nice to learn the evolution of the socks and blog.

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  14. 10 years... wow! as a kid I thought 10 years are like eternity... but now I know that 10 years are over super fast.... maybe something manipawlated the clocks?

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  15. Love hearing your story Ann. I have always wondered about your socks :) Thanks so much for being such a great part of Blogville!
    Marty's Mom

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  16. Yes, you have been blogging a long time and done a lot of posts and art work. We're glad you are still publishing posts.

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  17. Hip Hip Hooray - we love to see you having a lovely long snooze.
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

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  18. We are so glad you began blogging ten years ago and that you stuck with it! You have helped us so much in making our blog look truly wonderful over the years we have been blogging while appeasing LP's strong artistic sense as well as her sense of aesthetics! We are happy to call you friend Ann! Lots of love to you from all of us.Here's to ten more years of blogging :)

    Sophie and the critters in the cottage xo

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  19. I think that was a purrfect letter Z. We were asking ourselves what the story was behind the socks, so now we know😸 Pawkisses for a Happy Thankful Thursday☺❤

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